Ricky Gervais Says He'll Host SNL Next Year

Maybe seeing comedian pal Louis CK hosting Saturday Night Live has finally inspired Ricky Gervais to give the gig a shot. Or perhaps we're just lucky that another great comedian could be hosting SNL this season. Nothing has been announced by NBC yet, but from what Gervais says, we may just see the actor/comedian hosting an episode of the long-running sketch comedy series sometime next year.

In Gervais' recent blog entry, the Office creator mentioned that his TV series Derek is coming exclusively to Netflix in the U.S. next year. He went on to say that he promised the people at Saturday Night Live that he'd host an episode next year…

I also promised the SNL lot that I'd host next year. I've been invited to do it so many times but I was never available, but I'm going to do it next year whether it coincides with me plugging something or not. It might even be better if I don't have to restrict it to jokes about the movie or TV show I'm flogging. Pure fun. You'll be the judge of that.

Next year could be the second half of the current season, or next season. It doesn't sound like anything's set in stone yet, but hopefully SNL will make it happen!

It's always difficult to know what to expect when a comedian hosts SNL for the first time, but Louis CK did just that a couple of weeks ago and it was a great episode and the series made good use of the CK's strengths as a comedian. As it happens, Gervais has appeared on Louis CK's series Louie and the two appeared together in the HBO comedy special Talking Funny. But Gervais is likely best known for creating and starring in the original series The Office, as well as for his other series, which include An Idiot Abroad, Life's Too Short, Extras and The Ricky Gervais Show.